


Ladies' Choice

by IsobelSionisFalcone



Series: Juno's Lucius [1]
Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: F/M, Lucius is secretly romantic, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 18:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15540771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsobelSionisFalcone/pseuds/IsobelSionisFalcone
Summary: In honour of her service in battle, Caesar has allowed the Courier to marry one of his officers. Lucius would like it to be him.





	Ladies' Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Short, I know, but there will be a smutty sequel.

His mouth is dry, palms sweating as he approaches the row of houses in Cottonwood Cove. It's not the dust, nor the baking sun that is making Lucius uncomfortably warm just about everywhere and his jaw tightens as he closes in on the only open door. The rest were boarded up long before the Legion arrived, but Juno was swift to claim one of the old world houses for herself after the battle. She's never been comfortable sleeping at the Fort, not with the way the Legionaries eye her up and down and watch her every move, waiting to get her alone.

Not Lucius, though. He has always respected her abilities, regardless of what's between her legs. Now that Caesar has told her she may have her pick of his officers, the head of the Praetorian Guard wants to ensure he's one step ahead.

He knows Juno spends time with Antony. Whether she likes him or his dogs, Lucius cannot tell, but he doesn't wish to take his chances and leave the lad unchecked. Vulpes also seems to favour her and, even though the two have never spoken of anything but the Legion and her tasks, Lucius fears that Juno may prefer the wit and cunning of the Frumentarri, over his own tactical experience and skill in combat.

His most formidable competition is, of course, Aurelius of Phoenix. Big, strong, confident, the kind of man Juno will undoubtedly find attractive. She trades him NCR dog tags for caps, so the two meet frequently. Aurelius is always pleased to see a few more enemies dispatched, so Lucius imagines they get along well. The Centurion has never shown any interest in marriage, but Caesar has allowed Juno to chose whomever she wants, so it is likely that she may wish to wed a man who dares pin her to the mattress and give her bruises. She's fierce, but admires those with enough courage to hold their own against her.

As the heavy smell of adhesive from her new home begins to permeate his lungs, he attempts to restore some of his confidence. He's calm and sensible, with the ability to make informed decisions. Juno knows this, too. He'd helped train her in unarmed combat a few months ago and he hopes it has earned her favor, as well as treating her like a human being rather than a fuck toy. He hopes he stands above his comrades in her distorted view of the world.

Juno is on her hands and knees when he reaches the doorway, glueing the floor tiles she's spent days ripping up, cleaning and repairing back into place. His shadow looms over her and she turns, regarding him with a sigh of relief. She drops her tools and rises, dusting rubble from her knees and smiles. He is frozen in place, despite the heat.

"Lucius, you frightened me," she says. It almost angers him to think she fears what some of the Legionaries will do to her if she's caught unawares. He needs to get this over with, to be able to hold her at night and make her feel safe. "Was there something you needed?"

He shakes his head. "No. There was... something I was hoping to talk to you about."

She looks pleasantly surprised and he takes it as encouragement. "Of course. Why don't we sit down?"

She moves to the table, a marvel of carpentry that she's crafted herself. It has taken her close to a month, what with her missions, to complete and she's proud of it. Made of dark wood she found in an underground storage lockup, she's carved elegant patterns onto the legs and sides and polished out any dents and scratches. A painstaking effort, but she is determined in all she does.

Lucius sits opposite her, desperate not to let this opportunity slip by. He wants her, not just for a little stress relief when the mood strikes him, but because she is like no other woman he has ever met. She isn't like the slaves; timid and weak. The young woman is unafraid of danger, loyal to Caesar and enjoys strangling her opponents to death. He wants those hands on him.

"All this work..." he begins, avoiding the subject he realises he should've dived into headfirst. He's on a tricky slope. "What for?"

Juno sighs and her lip curls thoughtfully. "I'm not just a killer," she replies and her softness in her voice surprises him. "I'm a human being. I still have dreams of the future, of owning a place, having a family one day..." Lucius' heart nearly stops and he wonders who she imagines the father of her children to be. "I like having my own space, something tangible I can be proud of."

"What you have done for the Legion is exceptional," he says.

"I know, but I like a project."

Project... He supposes baby making is a kind of project... He needs to focus. His courage is waning.

"Is everything alright, Lucius?" she asks. "You don't look yourself."

"I'm fine," he reassures, but if there's one thing he admires about her, it's her tenacity.

"You know, you're one of the few men I feel like I can trust," Juno tells him quietly. "I was hoping that trust was mutual."

It's nothing to do with trust. It's about the next few words that he says, the words that could alter his life. He wants to ask her so badly, wants to say those four words that will lay him bare, more exposed than he's ever been.

"If you need help with something, I'm all ears."

"No, it's... It isn't like that."

The young woman's brows knit together and her head tilts, partly in curiosity, partly in exasperation. "You came all the way down the river to tell me something, and now you won't say anything."

"I'm not nearly so skilled in the art of speech as I'd like."

"Lucius, how bad can it-

"Marry me."

The air stills for a moment. Even the sound of the dust devils whipping around the side of the house seem to be muted, as do the footfalls of the nearby patrols. He breathes, in, out, in, out and that's all he can hear, chest rising and falling as though he's just completed a vigorous training session.

"What?" she says eventually and his heart sinks.

Lucius inhales deeply. "I apologise. That... Didn't quite come out as I had planned."

He begins to rise, to leave her to her floor tiles and prepare for an eternity in the grasp of loneliness, but she reaches across the table to snatch his hand in both of hers. His pulse pounds in his head and their eyes meet, deep blue gazing into canyon-rock brown.

"Stay," she whispers and he sits like an obedient hound. "Did... Did you just say what I think you said? More to the point, did you mean it?"

Lucius sighs, his eyes dropping to her delicate hands that can snap necks just as easily as they can carve wood. "I heard Caesar say that you could choose a husband from his ranks."

"Yes, I know," she nods. "You were in the room."

He still can't look up, tracing the veins on the back of her palms with his thumb. "I'm sorry if I've overstepped the bounds of your respect, but..." he gives a frustrated sigh because the words he wants don't come to him. "The thought of Aurelius bedding you like an animal was more than I could bare."

Juno laughs at his accidental pun and he relaxes, the effect of her laughter on him immediate, sweet relief. "You've got bigger balls than anyone else has to barge in here and demand I marry you."

"Will you?"

She studies Lucius for a moment, the hope in his eyes almost mesmerising, his chest rising and falling evenly. Yes, she can imagine being married to him, waking in the morning with his arm around her, his lips pressed to her neck. It's an image that pleases her.

"Do you want to?" she asks, turning his hand over in hers and soothingly rubbing his palm. He could fall asleep like this. "I mean, do you really want to? Or is this just..."

"I want to," he says with more conviction than he gives orders. The thought she may believe his proposition to be insincere wrenches strangely romantic sentences from him. "I want to hold you at night, to know how you feel in my arms and to know your pleasure even better than you do."

Juno's smile grows wider and at last, she releases his hands and leans back in her chair. With an airy laugh and a glint in her eye, she looks straight at him and says;

"Alright. I'll let Caesar know I've made my decision."

Lucius feels utterly elated, although it only manifests in his eyes as a sort of renewed determination, lips turning upward in gratitude. After a few moments spent basking in the warmth of the moment, words unnecessary as they gaze upon the other, Juno is the first to speak.

"Well, I'd better get back to doing my floor," she announces with a sigh. However, she then pauses and looks back to him, one eyebrow raised in a silent challenge, as is her way. "That is, unless my new husband can think of a better use for my hands."


End file.
